


Owls in the Family

by Barroness



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 04:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30066861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barroness/pseuds/Barroness
Summary: Jareth rescues four nestling owls. Chaos ensues
Relationships: Jareth & Sarah Williams, Jareth/Sarah Williams
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Owls in the Family

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a comment on the Labyrinth Fan Fic Lovers Facebook group.

Jareth was in his owl form, winging his way back to Sarah after returning a wisher home. Once again the young girl took her dreams instead of continuing on to rescue her younger sister, though she made it further than the last dozen runners. Jareth was beyond tired, he was exhausted both physically and magically. Having been "on" for more than 8 hours, before the elder sibling had given up, and in meetings another 8 hours before that. He didn't even have the energy to use his magic to transport back Underground so he was making his way to one of the few remaining Underground entrances that remained Above in this part of the world. When it began to rain he changed his plan.

He knew Sarah would be busy matching the young girl with a childless Fae couple who would raise her as their own. Sarah would understand so he detoured to a barn he frequented and decided to take a nap hoping when he awoke he would have enough magic to teleport. When he got to his favourite hollow in the barn, however, he found it already occupied by four normal young barn owls. They were a pathetic mess of down and looked half-starved. Using his advanced eyesight he found a mass of feathers on the barn floor. It appeared the mother had been killed by another animal, perhaps a raccoon. Jareth had run-ins with them himself and only escaped due to his magic. Feeling uncharacteristic pity for the young birds he mustered himself and flew out back out into the rain and caught a young rabbit. It wasn't easy as his feathers weren't waterproof and he was unable to use magic to make them so.

Returning with his prey he shook the water from his feathers and dropped the rabbit in front of the young birds. They looked from the rabbit to Jareth and back again. With a mental sigh, Jareth started ripping into the rabbit and depositing bits of meat into each of the young owls' mouthes, occasionally grabbing a bite for himself as well. He didn't often eat like this but it wouldn't harm him. Once fed the young ones began to doze off and a thoroughly exhausted Jareth spread his wings over them, two on each side, and fell asleep himself.

He woke about an hour later to the chatter of the young owls. It was still dark so he knew only a short time had passed. He tried to shift back to his Fae form but still wasn't able to and he suspected that he wouldn't be able to until he returned Underground. The owlets looked a little better after a full meal but Jareth knew without a parent to bring food until they fledged their death was inevitable. He paced back and forth as much as the small space would allow. He felt a responsibility for the young birds but knew he wouldn't be able to stay Above for the time it took for them to fledge. While he thought over the problem he fed the rest of the rabbit to the quartet. Without his magic, he was unable to transport himself underground let alone four additional birds, small as they were. With full bellies again the nestlings went back to sleep. They appeared to be about six weeks old and Jareth knew they would need care for at least another three weeks. If only he could get them Underground they could live in the castle mews until they fledged then could be returned Above. He decided to sleep on the matter a bit more, then figure out what to do in the morning.

Dawn came far too early for his liking. Ruffling his feather, he again tried to shift back into his Fae self but still couldn't. He resettled his feathers with a shiver and checked on the owlets. After two good meals, their eyes were clearer though their down was patchy. He didn't normally try to communicate with other owls but he did have the ability. So with a soft hoot, he told them to stay quiet and he would return later with more food. Having weighed all the options, there was only one place close enough for him to get any kind of help but he wasn't sure what kind of reception he would get. With a mental sigh and knowing this was the only hope for the quartet of young owls, he took to the wing again. He knew he could get there by lunch. Whether his in-laws would welcome him remained to be seen.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Two is mostly written and will be much longer.


End file.
